Hey folks, Harry here... Went to the Austin Premiere of SPY KIDS 2: ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS here in Austin, Tx today. If you see the film, the premiere took place inside of the theater that the Musical Number that takes place during the end credits takes place. On hand was Robert Rodriguez... both Carmen and Juni as well as both the rival Spy Kids, plus Bill Paxton and Danny 'Machete' Trejo. I'm not writing up a review of the film, but I did want to comment a bit about the Digital Projection I saw of this film tonight. The colors and images were absolutely beautiful projected this way. Stunning clarity and purity of colors. If you have a chance to see this all digital film projected that way, I can't recommend it enough to see that way. I prefer this adventure to the original, simply because of all the Harryhausen-esque creatures... and btw... the skeletons are more POSADA-esque than Harryhausen in actual execution and design. Now go research and become acquainted with Posada!
What's up Harry. I caught "Spy Kids 2" Saturday morning and just thought I would drop my thoughts on it for you and your readers. I would first like to mention that I am a big fan of the first "Spy Kids" movie. It blew me away. That movie has imagination to spare and not only made a great kids flick but a fun spy flick as well. I believe "Spy Kids" is one of a kind, right up there with "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" so I had very high expectations for "Spy Kids 2".
Let me just say Robert Rodriguez does not disappoint on his second outing but he does not come close to capturing the shear joy of the original film. Like I said, expectations were high. But I can't knock Rodriguez too hard because he turns in a sequel that does not rehash material from the original film unlike all the other sequels this summer. So with the exception of stealing a couple bits from his segment in "Four Rooms" (well I'm sure most kids haven't seen it) Rodriguez has made a sequel that stays true to its roots without directly stealing from its source.
Much like the first film, it's a live action cartoon. The movie is set in its own universe but is so engrained in this world that it comes off believable. Even obvious CGI images don't seem unrealistic in this setting so when the film moves onto the island where the special effects get purposely cartoonish, you are able to have fun watching the imagary. The island sequence contains classic stop-motion (or at least it is done well enough that it seems this way) that is really amazing. The interaction between the actors and the stop motion is virtually flawless. The special effects fit the movie well.
The returning actors as well as the new ones are good too, especially Steve Buscemi who turns hilarious performance as well as delivering the best line in the movie. Antonio Banderas pulls off some very big laughs and Mike Judge turns in a decent supporting role. The kids are also good much like they were in the original film.
The problem is it doesn't quite have the energy the first film has. There are sour patches throughout but the good stuff far outweighs those slow bits. Maybe Rodriguez could have trimmed here and there to tighten the film up a bit. Less scenes in the office would have been nice and leaving the emphasis on the kids mission may have helped a bit. I am neet-picking a little but I really do love the original.
"Spy Kids 2" is really worth checking out and I feel like an ass for saying it after beating it with a stick. It's the best of the summer sequels. I have complained less about both "Austin Powers" and "Men in Black" sequels even though they are nowhere as good as this film. "Spy Kids 2" is a worthy follow-up to a wonderful film.
Peace Out,
L.P.
